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Our classmate and friend, Raul Molina, lost his battle with COVID on Wednesday, July 29th. His whole family was infected with the virus, but Raul had a more severe reaction and was hospitalized on 18 July. He texted me a few hours before his passing to tell me he was being moved to the ICU and didn’t think he would be coming back out. He, of course, did this with a touch of optimism and humor that was core to his personality.
As you most likely remember, Raul had three children that are still young. His daughters have just become teenagers and his son is still in grade school. In his text, Raul expressed concern for their futures and education. He asked me to set up a Go Fund Me to support/help Miriam (his wife) ensure the children continue their education.
Raul was incredibly caring and placed the well being of his family and friends above all else. He spread pure joy and his actions were focused on improving the lives and opportunities to those around him. As a true family man, he aspired for his children to have the same or greater opportunities he had.
Raul placed education as a primary means for betterment and his last wish to me was to help ensure his children are able to continue their education. He asked for support to provide and enable a pathway to a greater future for his children knowing he would not be here to provide it.
I am setting up this Go Fund Me specifically to allow Adriana, Sofia, and Carlos (Carlito) to continue the primary and secondary education. Thank you all for your support and contributions to this cause. We were blessed to know Raul and his family and I look forward to our ability to provide for them in their time of need.
Thank you.
UPDATE:
Thank you to everyone that directly donated and shared this link with their network. We surpassed our goal of $30,000 because of our energies and efforts. I appreciate the support you provided Raul's family and view it as a reflection of how Raul touched each of our lives with his smile and friendship.
I began the process of withdrawing the donations on Friday, but was surprised by an email from GoFundMe that the transfer of funds is on hold until the following five questions (below) are answered in this "Story" update. I emailed their Customer Support team with Miriam in cc with additional information to support the legitimacy of this fundraiser and hope this public update will expedite the release of funds so they can ultimately be transferred to Miriam soonest.
1. Who you are - My name is Derek Ian Dalmolin. I am Raul's friend and was his classmate at Arizona State University (ASU) between 2008 and 2010.
2. Where you're from - I am originally from Arizona, but have lived in many states in the US. I currently reside in Blue Bell, PA.
3. Your relationship to the parties you're raising funds for - As previously stated, I am Raul's friend and spent time with him and his extended family during graduate school and vacations to El Salvador. Raul reached out to me on the morning of his death through Facebook Messenger and asked that I help Miriam and his children if he did not recover. The GoFundMe was set up as a means to financially help them per Raul's wishes.
4. How the funds will be used (be specific as possible) - The donations will be provided to Miriam to use as needed to support her and the children. Raul was specifically concerned about the children's education and hopefully the donations help assist them in their schooling.
5. If you intend to withdraw the money, how you plan to send the funds to the parties you're raising money for or use the money on their behalf - GoFundMe requires the funds to be transferred to domestic bank accounts only per their Terms of Service. Unfortunately, Miriam does not have an active US bank account. As such, I opened a separate bank account at Bank of America so the the donations from the GoFundMe site can be withdrawn. The funds will then be wire transferred to Miriam in El Salvador.
I hope this update helps those that donated know where we are in the process and that it, along with my separate email to [email redacted], are sufficient for the hold on our fundraiser to be removed by the GoFundMe team.
Thank you all again for your support. Please reach out to me directly ([email redacted] or [phone redacted]) if you have any questions or comments.
As you most likely remember, Raul had three children that are still young. His daughters have just become teenagers and his son is still in grade school. In his text, Raul expressed concern for their futures and education. He asked me to set up a Go Fund Me to support/help Miriam (his wife) ensure the children continue their education.
Raul was incredibly caring and placed the well being of his family and friends above all else. He spread pure joy and his actions were focused on improving the lives and opportunities to those around him. As a true family man, he aspired for his children to have the same or greater opportunities he had.
Raul placed education as a primary means for betterment and his last wish to me was to help ensure his children are able to continue their education. He asked for support to provide and enable a pathway to a greater future for his children knowing he would not be here to provide it.
I am setting up this Go Fund Me specifically to allow Adriana, Sofia, and Carlos (Carlito) to continue the primary and secondary education. Thank you all for your support and contributions to this cause. We were blessed to know Raul and his family and I look forward to our ability to provide for them in their time of need.
Thank you.
UPDATE:
Thank you to everyone that directly donated and shared this link with their network. We surpassed our goal of $30,000 because of our energies and efforts. I appreciate the support you provided Raul's family and view it as a reflection of how Raul touched each of our lives with his smile and friendship.
I began the process of withdrawing the donations on Friday, but was surprised by an email from GoFundMe that the transfer of funds is on hold until the following five questions (below) are answered in this "Story" update. I emailed their Customer Support team with Miriam in cc with additional information to support the legitimacy of this fundraiser and hope this public update will expedite the release of funds so they can ultimately be transferred to Miriam soonest.
1. Who you are - My name is Derek Ian Dalmolin. I am Raul's friend and was his classmate at Arizona State University (ASU) between 2008 and 2010.
2. Where you're from - I am originally from Arizona, but have lived in many states in the US. I currently reside in Blue Bell, PA.
3. Your relationship to the parties you're raising funds for - As previously stated, I am Raul's friend and spent time with him and his extended family during graduate school and vacations to El Salvador. Raul reached out to me on the morning of his death through Facebook Messenger and asked that I help Miriam and his children if he did not recover. The GoFundMe was set up as a means to financially help them per Raul's wishes.
4. How the funds will be used (be specific as possible) - The donations will be provided to Miriam to use as needed to support her and the children. Raul was specifically concerned about the children's education and hopefully the donations help assist them in their schooling.
5. If you intend to withdraw the money, how you plan to send the funds to the parties you're raising money for or use the money on their behalf - GoFundMe requires the funds to be transferred to domestic bank accounts only per their Terms of Service. Unfortunately, Miriam does not have an active US bank account. As such, I opened a separate bank account at Bank of America so the the donations from the GoFundMe site can be withdrawn. The funds will then be wire transferred to Miriam in El Salvador.
I hope this update helps those that donated know where we are in the process and that it, along with my separate email to [email redacted], are sufficient for the hold on our fundraiser to be removed by the GoFundMe team.
Thank you all again for your support. Please reach out to me directly ([email redacted] or [phone redacted]) if you have any questions or comments.